Japanese Butterfly
by Rose Fortress
Summary: It's time for Japan to introduce Greece to her pet Cho, and if things go well, it will also be the beginning of a new stage for her relationship with Greece. Genderbent Giripan with fem!Japan and fem!Greece.


After real life and other projects stole me for three months, I've finally got a new fic to upload here! This was written for a Hetalia kink meme prompt that asked for something based on the personal headcanon we had for characters. Nyotalia was listed as acceptable, so I based this fic off my headcanon that the butterfly drawn by fem!Japan's shoulder in two sketches is her longtime pet and worked my favorite Hetalia pairing in here too.

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><p>"Oh, what a lovely butterfly," Greece breathed as the violet-colored butterfly flew down until it was hovering just above Japan's head. "What's its name?"<p>

"Her name is Cho," Japan replied. She saw Greece stretch out her right arm and began saying hastily, "Cho doesn't really like strangers, so don't feel..." Her voice trailed off as Cho fluttered down and gently alit on Greece's open palm. She still felt a slight sense of unease at seeing Cho so close to and even being touched by another nation; it was as if Greece was holding an intimate part of Japan in the palm of her hand and could crush her by simply closing her hand tightly.

After everything that had happened, however, it would be silly for Japan to worry about someone else crushing her butterfly, especially with Greece gazing at Cho in a way that indicated she knew she was holding something very precious indeed in her palm. A gaze that a not-too-insignificant part of her couldn't help but wish that Greece could redirect towards Cho's owner.

"Cho..." Greece murmured as she watched Cho's wings flutter in almost perfect rhythm to the spring breeze. "It means butterfly in Japanese, right?"

"Yes," Japan replied. "I was a very young girl when I named her," she added a bit defensively.

"I named my first cat Corporal Cat, so I'm in no position to tease you about that," Greece said with a knowing smile. Cho, apparently having gotten a long enough up-close view of Greece to satisfy her, flapped her wings and flew away from Greece's palm until she was hovering close to Japan's head again. "How long have you had her?" Greece asked, letting her right arm fall back down to her side.

"I've had Cho for as long as I can remember," Japan replied. "She was actually the first thing I saw when I woke up in the bamboo thicket and even led me to where China-san was."

"That's one faithful butterfly indeed," Greece said, her green eyes glancing back to Cho who was now perched on Japan's left shoulder before looking back at Japan with a brightness in them that emerged only when she was truly focused on something and made it so that Japan _had _to tell her the full story.

"Cho was very loyal to me as I grew up," Japan continued softly, remembering how her butterfly had been consistently good to her - perhaps _too_good for her. "She wouldn't be present every hour of the day, but she would be there every time I needed to see her. Even during my isolation, she would fly by my window once in a while as if reminding me that there was still life outside."

"And you did come out eventually," Greece said, her lips quirked up in one of her catlike - and contagious - smiles.

"Yes, I did." Japan could have easily stopped here when she and Greece were still smiling, but she took a deep breath and continued with, "Then World War II came, and close to its end she was crushed by...someone." She averted her eyes away from Greece's to look at Cho who was still fluttering around close to her and still very much alive. "Someone who was very tired and frustrated and got it into their head that having a butterfly around symbolized vulnerability or a woman who would devote and sacrifice her entire life to a patently unworthy cause. You must keep in mind that Italy-san's opera _Madama Butterfly _was very popular during this time," she said, looking back at Greece whose face was now solemn.

"I am," Greece said. Her voice lacked some of its usual easiness, but she seemed to be more thoughtful and curious than hostile or disgusted. "What happened after that?"

"Cho vanished into thin air shortly after she was crushed. I thought she was gone for good, but several years later I found her perched behind the bamboo screen of my guestroom as if nothing had happened. I know it could simply be another butterfly who looks just like her, but something within me tells me that it's the same Cho." As if to confirm this, Cho settled on the edge of Japan's chrysanthemum hair pin at the end of her statement.

Greece remained sunk in deep thought for a while, her eyes subdued and far-off, before saying thoughtfully, "You know...in my culture, a butterfly symbolizes the soul of a person."

Japan felt the tension dissipate from her shoulders and saw the movement of Cho's wings become more relaxed. "It's the same in my culture. I've always thought that Cho was a personification of my soul or spirit in some way."

The smile returned to Greece's face. "That would fit with the story you just told me. It's clear that Cho's no ordinary butterfly at the very least." Her eyes trailed away from Cho and lingered for a moment on the violet color of Japan's obi before she added, "I think I also read from somewhere that butterflies can symbolize rebirth too."

"That's very true," Japan said, suppressing the sudden urge to fiddle with her obi. "I've thought about that aspect more than once. If it means that I was reborn in a sense when Cho came back."

"I'd say it does," Greece replied. "Your old life and memories haven't gone away, but you're going in a different direction now based on these experiences and memories."

She looked at Japan in a way that made Japan feel as if Greece could peer into her and see every blemish and scar there, but also that she might just like most of what she saw there nonetheless. It was a feeling that Japan had been experiencing for some time already, but had never done anything about. Until now.

"Greece-san," she whispered, seeing Cho give an encouraging flutter of her wings at the edge of her vision. "What I am about to do is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Please try not to be offended by it."

She pressed her lips against Greece's for a brief moment, just long enough to feel the warmth of Greece's mouth against hers, and then drew back. It was something that the old Japan would never have done, refusing to admit that she was either capable of doing something so improper or vulnerable to love and having her heart broken, but the new Japan had enough experience with denying her true feelings about who she wanted to be to try doing the opposite of it.

"I'm not innocent or delicate like a butterfly is supposed to be," she said in a rush upon seeing Greece's surprised face, "and I don't want to be any of these things. I want to be the things I kept myself from being before, without repeating any of the things I now regret. And if you're willing, I would like-"

The rest of Japan's sentence was cut off by a pair of full lips pressing against hers. She was momentarily taken aback by this as she didn't think that Greece could move _that_fast, but she quickly let Greece's tongue slip into her mouth and begin ravishing it with an intensity that made Japan clutch the back of Greece's blouse with both hands as Greece's own hands made their way to Japan's hips.

The kiss was nothing at all like the one given to a maiden considered to be as fragile as a porcelain doll, but a passionate, unyielding one that held nothing back and conveyed what the kisser felt about the kissee in such explicit detail that no words were needed. Japan kissed back as hard as she could, her chest pressed against Greece's well-endowed one, until Greece pulled away to give her a smile so broad that it made her blush.

"You know..." Greece mused as she ran her fingers through Japan's hair, "I never understood where people got the idea of butterflies being fragile and innocent. If butterflies really do represent the soul, I'd think they wouldn't be so easily killed and that they'd actually be quite experienced from living for such a long time."

Japan felt her blush deepen, but managed to keep her voice steady as she replied, "I'm glad you think that."

Greece's fingers paused in their stroking of Japan's hair and she glanced around. "Where's Cho, by the way?"

Japan gave a faintly embarrassed laugh. "I think she left us to be alone."

"Then..." Greece gave Japan a smile much like the one found on a cat who had just been thrown a previously unobtainable ball of yarn, and tucked a loose lock of Japan's hair behind her left ear. "Just to make sure you know this, I've liked you for a long time too. Not just for the way you dance with fans or nudge me whenever I become lost in my daydreams, but also for how you can politely take control of a conversation and become surprisingly blunt whenever you truly want something, for better or for worse."

In other words, Greece saw Japan as a different kind of butterfly or lady than most of the other nations did. "I'm very glad to hear that too," Japan said, just before leaning forward again.

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><p>AN:

_Madama Butterfly _(better known as _Madame Butterfly_ in the United States) is an opera that debuted in Italy in 1904 and soon became very popular around the world. People tend to view its plot of a Japanese woman committing suicide when her cruel Western lover leaves her to marry another woman as either a beautifully tragic romance or a perpetuation of the stereotype of Asian women as submissive and fragile, so it's a bit of my headcanon too that fem!Japan has similarly mixed feelings about it.

Additionally, butterflies really do represent the soul in both Greek and Japanese culture. Greek mythology even depicts Psyche, whose name means "soul," as a butterfly-winged goddess married to Eros, the god of love, a cool fact that I wish I could have included somewhere in this fic.

Reviews and constructive criticism for this fic will be greatly welcomed!


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